Refining Sicily Over 3,000 years of change…

Prehistoric Sicily

➔ 10,000- 4,000 BCE◆ Neolithic Era

Neolithic Age

➔ 10,000 BCE: Neolithics are present in Sicily ➔ 8,000 BCE: Agriculture/Artistic culture➔ 7,000 BCE: Jewels are discovered➔ 4,000 BCE: Worlds oldest structures are

built➔ 4,000 BCE: The wheel and religion is known

Early Native History➔ 2800-1100 BCE

◆ Non-Indo European

Non-Indo European

➔ 2000 BCE: Early Bronze Age➔ 1800 BCE: “Native” Sicilian cultures➔ 1500 BCE: Trading with foreign countries➔ 1300 BCE: Olive trees➔ 1200 BCE: Sicels arrive/Iron Age➔ 1100 BCE: Elymians arrive in Western Sicily

Phoenicia, Carthage, and Greece➔ 700-278 BCE

◆ 700 BCE: Phoenicia◆ 735 BCE: Greece◆ 400 BCE: Carthage

Greece/Phoenicia ➔ 735 BCE: Permanently in Sicily:

Syracuse➔ 705 BCE: Sicels are assimilated in

Erina ➔ 700 BCE: Phoenician establish

Palermo and create trading posts➔ 504-466 BCE: Hippocrates/Gelon rule

E. Sicily as tyrants ➔ 490 BCE: Athens defeats Persia: war ➔ 480 BCE: Carthage wages war against

Greece and loses➔ 415-413 BCE: Athens tries to invade

E.Sicily and loses

Greeks: ● Religious Concepts● Artistic talent● Mythology● Acroliths

Phoenicians● Alphabet ● Trade Routes

Carthage

➔ 400 BCE: Permanent resident in Palermo➔ 398-396 BCE: Greek city-states in Sicily

battle➔ 346-348 BCE: Carthaginian war in Sicily ➔ 311-280 BCE: Invasion of Western Sicily ➔ Established ports and land in W.Sicily

Roman Period: 265-Early CE➔ 264-241 BCE: First Punic War ➔ 227 BCE: Syracuse becomes first Roman province. Syracuse

resists➔ 215 BCE: Hieron II dies. Rome wants control of Sicily➔ 212 BCE: Syracuse finally falls to Rome. Archimedes is killed.➔ 136-132 BCE: Eunos leads slave revolt and conquers land.

Rome stops the revolt➔ 104-100 BCE: Another slave revolt led by Salvius➔ 395 CE: Rome falls and transforms into Byzantine.

The Barbarian Age: Vandals, Visigoths, and Ostrogiths. 410- 535 CE➔ 410 CE: Visigoths destroy W. Roman gov’t.➔ 440-476 CE: Vandals land in Sicily and

depart➔ 491-535 CE: Ostrigoth rule ends, Vandals

rule is over. W. Rome is destroyed in the process

➔ 535 CE: MIDDLE AGES BEGINS➔ 535 CE: Byzantines take control of Sicily,

gothic rule ends.

The Byzantines 527-668 CE➔ 527 CE: Justinian establishes Legal Code ➔ 533 CE: Vandals and Goths lands are

annexed (Sicily) to the Byzantines ➔ 550 CE: Ostrogoths invades Sicily and lose ➔ 652 CE: Small Arabian group force

themselves into Sicily ➔ 666-668 CE: Constantine rules Byzantine

from Syracuse

The Muslim Period: 827-1061 CE 827-1061 CE: ➔ Euphemius the commander of the Byzantine fleet of

Sicily forced a nun to marry him. His nose was cut off by Constantine.

➔ Euphemius rose up, killed Constantine and then occupied Syracuse; he in turn was defeated and driven out to North Africa

➔ The arabian army brought emigrants from all over the Muslim world and became Sicilian

Left behind fromt he Muslims… ➔ Citrus ➔ Sugar Cane➔ Mulberries➔ Pastry➔ Nuts

Norman Era: 1061-1190 CE➔ 1060 CE: Unsuccessful Norman incursion into Coastal

NE Sicily, presence after Battle of Messina ➔ 1072 CE: Battle of Palermo ends in early January with

Norman occupation➔ 1081-1085 CE: Sicilian revolts against repression ➔ 1098 CE: New Latin bishop of Palermo, and new

monasteries established➔ 1099 CE: Roger I controlled much of the island,

immigration was encouraged from both Northern Italy and Campania.

Swabian Period: 1194-1240 CE ➔ 1194 CE: Holy Emperor Henry VI von Hohenstaufen arrives

in Sicily ➔ 1198 CE: Sicilian language is Italic with foreign influences:

Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, etc. ➔ 1221 CE: University of Naples founded by Frederick II ➔ 1223 CE: Execution of Arab rebel leader Morabit. Most

muslims convert to Christianity. Jews are invited to Sicily➔ 1229 CE: Frederick II and Sicilian knights crusade to

Jerusalem. Signs peace with Muslims without war. ➔ 1240 CE: First of a series of revolts by Sicilian Muslims

Angevin Rule: 1266- 1453 CE

➔ 1266 CE: Charles of Anjou becomes king of Naples and Sicily

➔ 1267 CE: Hohenstaufen imperial line is extinct

➔ 1282 CE: A revolt in Palermo: Sicilian Vespers to force the french out of Sicily

➔ 1283 CE: Sicilians and Spaniard Peter III defeat Charles I, Spanish is in control

➔

Spanish Rule: 1478-1782 CE

➔ 1478 CE: Spanish Inquisition begins, Jews are expelled from Sicily

➔ 1492 CE: Spanish lands unify and Sicilian lands are completely controlled by Spanish

➔ King of Spain Charles V becomes King of Sicily

➔ Spanish rule ends in 1782 CE

17th and 18th Century

➔ 1656: Huge Bubonic Plague outbreak ➔ 1693: Large earthquake destroys villages and

towns ➔ 1713-1720: Victor Amadeus II becomes king.

Sicily is traded to Austria for Sardinia ➔ 1734: The Bourbons take over Sicily and

Naples➔ 1782: Spanish Inquisition ends

19th Century➔ 1812: Sicily briefly gains independence from Naples, but

still under the rule of Bourbons➔ 1848: Revolution breaks out, Palermo and Messina are

bombed. Palermo surrender to the Bourbons ➔ 1860-61: Giuseppe Garibaldi take complete control of the

island, uniting North and South ➔ 1861: Vote in support of Sicilians becoming Italian➔ 1866: A brief evolution breaks out in response to Sicilian

belief that 1861 election was fraudulent. Palermo is bombed.

20th Century ➔ 1908: Massive earthquake destroys part of Sicily and kills

over 100,000 people ➔ 1922: Mussolini comes into power. He launches a

movement for Sicilians to speak Italian and clamps down on mafia.

➔ 1946: Italy names Sicily a autonomous region to avoid bloody rebellion

➔ 1948: Sicily becomes a republic➔ 1980’s: Hundreds of mafia members are convicted ➔ 1992: Anti-Mafia demonstrations break out in Sicily